New gaming vest allows players to feel impact of bullets

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A new gaming vest promises players of first-person shooter games the ability to actually feel the force of bullet fire in addition to its direction. The vest also has the ability to simulate the feel of explosions and of fingers tapping on your shoulders. TN Games calls the vest the Third Space FPS Vest.

The Third Space FPS Vest works through the use of 8 embedded pneumatic cells. The vest will be available in colors of black and digital camouflage and in two adjustable sizes. It will be offered for US$189 beginning November 21.

The vest will be bundled with TN Games’ premier title, called Incursion, in addition to a special version of Call of Duty 2, which has been enabled to work with the new vest. Free patches to enable other games to work with the vest will also be available from the TN Games website. Patches are set to be available for Quake 3, Quake 4, and Doom 3. More titles enabled for the vest are expected to be available in the future.

Talk about the ultimate Christmas gift for a gamer. This vest would have to be the part of any ultimate gaming system. I can just imagine sitting in front of a 42 inch LCD, with headphones, and this vest on. I don’t think you could get any closer to feeling like you’re a part of the game,–without causing bodily injury.

This is yet another device to add an entirely new dimension to the design of video games. Previously, it has been about the graphics, the music, and sound. Sure, there has also been some consideration given to force feedback controls, but imagine being a game designer and designing a game in which players can actually feel someone tapping on their shoulders or nudging their ribs.

The vest will also give serious gamers an edge when playing in multi-player environments. It’s one thing to hear yourself being shot from behind. It’s another thing to be able to feel it and better sense what direction it is coming from. More sensory input for gamers to process will improve their play even more. I can almost hear kids making additions and modifications to their Christmas gift list now.

That is a lot of money to spend to add to your gaming experience, especially if you are good at your FPS games and hardly ever get shot. It may help figure out where you are being shot from in games like Counterstrike, but a good 5.1 surround sound system is likely cheaper and just as effective.

Vibration in gaming peripherals has become an expected feature when you buy a console. Even Sony are finally re-introducing it to the Playstation 3 pads. You can also get steering wheels, joysticks and even chairs that have force feedback if you are willing to spend a lot of cash.